A RUSSIAN woman was arrested in Phuket last evening (July 27) after a currency exchange booth employee filed a complaint that he had received three counterfeit US$50 banknotes from her, Amarin TV said.
Kamala subdistrict police arrested Ms. Evgenia (surname withheld), 22, at a pool villa with 32 more fake US$50 bills found among 75 she had in her possession.
Total value of the 35 fake US$50 bills is around 62,000 baht at today’s exchange rate.
Upon being questioned she told police that she did not know they were fake as her father had given her 60 US$50 bills to spend during her visit to Phuket and on July 23 she had exchanged four of them at a currency exchange counter in front of a mall in Kamala subdistrict, getting 5,348 baht in return.
Three of her Russian friends were also rounded up for questioning.
The unidentified employee of the currency exchange booth had brought the three fake bills out of four he had received from her in filing a complaint that same day.
The Russian woman has been charged with bringing fake currency into the country, knowingly spending the fake currency and violating Customs regulations in doing so.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: The fake US$50 bills on the left and genuine ones on the right.
First insert: The Russian woman being questioned by Kamala police. Both photos: Amarin TV
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